One of my dog’s favorite games is to run around the house, making her human chase her. For some reason, she seems to delight in running in small circles, probably because it gives her a chance to watch me get dizzy. But why doesn’t she get dizzy? Do dogs have a different type of inner ear or something?
When running around the house, my guess is that since they are smaller, their turns aren’t as sharp as it appears to us…so they don’t get dizzy…that’s just a guess though…
Has anyone ever seen a dog get dizzy and fall after chasing their own tail?
probably because running in circles doesn’t make you dizzy like spinning does. why don’t you try it and let us know?
They do get dizzy. Maybe it’s harder for them but they definitely get dizzy. I know this because I did an experiment proving just this (although at the time I did it just cuz I thought it was funny).
My brother’s dog was snoozing on a chair that could spin. I started the chair spinning over and over with the poor pooch lying there. For some reason she didn’t just spring off immediately but kind of splayed her paws out a bit so she could hang on, as it were, better.
After about 30 seconds or so of this I stopped the chair and called the dog to me. She jumped off the chair and promptly fell over. She got up, wobbled and then ran a decidedly awkward and very unstraight line to me.
I really am not cruel to animals and the dog seemed no worse for wear and even seemed to think it was fun. Regardless of what the dog thought it was funny as hell to watch from my perspective.
I can attest too that dogs get dizzy. They also get drunk, but that wasn’t my fault.
They do get dizzy – you should see long-legged Scout try to stay on her feet after anesthesia (getting her teeth cleaned – twice now in her 9 years).
I’m guessing that if they do, they don’t show it as much – four legs and a low center of gravity makes them more stable.